Healthiest State Programs and Policies
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Decision Maker:		  
Topic:		   Strength of
Evidence:		   Potential
Population Reach:		   Disparity
Impact:		  
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Decision Maker
Implementation in other States
Wisconsin Specifics
Expected Beneficial Outcomes
Evidence of Effectiveness
Strength of Evidence
Disparity Impact
Potential Population Reach

About This Database

This database, Policies and Programs to Improve Wisconsin's Health, is a summary of a wide scan of research to find evidence of effectiveness for policies and programs that address the multiple drivers of health that, in turn, affect our health outcomes. The database currently includes more than 360 policies and programs.

Policies and programs are listed within the three major categories of drivers of health.

Drivers of Health

The database includes a variety of categories of information about each program and policy as well as ratings of selected characteristics of the programs:

Categories of Information:

  • A brief description of the policy or program
  • The decision maker(s) who could enact the policy or program
  • The level of implementation in other states and in Wisconsin
  • The expected beneficial outcomes of the policy or program
  • Sources of evidence on the effectiveness of the policy or program

Rating Measures:

  • Strength of evidence of policy/program effectiveness
  • Potential impact of the policy or program on health disparities
  • Potential population reach, i.e., the number of Wisconsin residents potentially affected

Ideas? Suggestions?

Know of a policy or program not in our database?
Suggest a Policy or Program

Have more information about a specific policy or program in our database? Want to provide input about feasibility, costs, or unintended consequences of a policy or program?
Use the Submit a Comment comment icon feature next to the policy/program.

How to Use This Database

You can browse the entire listing of policies and programs or you can search the database for specific policies or programs.

If you choose to search the database, there are two main ways to search:

  1. By typing in a key word or phrase, e.g., mental health
  2. Using the Advanced Search option to search by one or more of the following classifications:
    • Decision Maker (e.g., community organization),
    • Topic (e.g., physical activity),
    • Strength of Evidence,
    • Potential Population Reach,
    • Disparity Impact,
    • Policy or Program, and/or
    • Implementation Status

Acknowledgements

This database is funded by the Wisconsin Partnership Program, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, as part of the "Making Wisconsin the Healthiest State" project. The database is the result of efforts by staff and students from the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute (UWPHI). We are very grateful for the feedback received from many people, including the UWPHI Advisory Board, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, other government agencies, and numerous other organizations across the state.

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Evidence of effectiveness
"Effectiveness" means whether a policy or programs works in real life while the American Heritage Dictionary defines "evidence" as "the data on which a judgment can be based or proof established." However, there can a range of different types of evidence, from "data resulting from scientific controlled trials and research" through "expert or user consensus, evaluation, or anecdotal information" or personal observation.

Our review focused on scientific evidence (the accumulation of data through evaluation and research that carefully examines how an intervention is delivered and what improvements result). We searched for the best available research results and for data-driven reviews, rather than intuitive judgment, expertise or experience.

Our gold standard for "evidence of effectiveness" was based on comprehensive systematic reviews that found strong evidence of effectiveness of a particular program or policy. (Systematic reviews involve using a set of specific criteria to perform critical assessment and evaluation of all research studies that address a particular issue.)

In the absence of availability of systematic reviews in particular areas, we conducted direct searches for research evaluating the effectiveness of particular policies or programs. The best direct evidence comes from the gold standard of research designs: randomized control trials (RCTs). However, in many areas, it is not feasible, practical or ethical to evaluate programs and policies using RCTs. In these cases, we looked for good evidence based on other attributes such as relevance, objectivity, and credibility.

University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute



File last updated: October 8, 2009
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